Tips for healthy eating:

These tips cover the basics of healthy eating and can help you make healthier choices.

The key to a healthy diet is to eat the right amount of calories for how active you are so you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use.

If you eat or drink more than your body needs, you'll put on weight because the energy you do not use is stored as fat. If you eat and drink too little, you'll lose weight.

You should also eat a wide range of foods to make sure you're getting a balanced diet and your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.

It's recommended that men have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). Women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules).

Most adults in the UK are eating more calories than they need and should eat fewer calories.

1. Base your meals on higher fibre starchy carbohydrates

Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over a third of the food you eat. They include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals.

Choose higher fibre or wholegrain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice or potatoes with their skins on.

They contain more fibre than white or refined starchy carbohydrates and can help you feel full for longer.

2. Eat lots of fruit and veg

It's recommended that you eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. They can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced.

Getting your 5 A Day is easier than it sounds. Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal, or swap your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit?

3. Eat more fish, including a portion of oily fish

Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals.

Aim to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, including at least 1 portion of oily fish.

Oily fish are high in omega-3 fats, which may help prevent heart disease. 

Oily fish include:

salmon

trout

herring

sardines

pilchards

mackerel

Non-oily fish include:

haddock

plaice

coley

cod

tuna

skate

hake

You can choose from fresh, frozen and canned, but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.

4. Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

Saturated fat

You need some fat in your diet, but it's important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat you're eating.

There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.

Children under the age of 11 should have less saturated fat than adults, but a low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5. In addition, full-fat dairy products, such as cheese, fromage frais and yoghurt, are recommended up to the age of 2 years.

Saturated fat is found in many foods, such as:

fatty cuts of meat

sausages

butter

hard cheese

cream

cakes

biscuits

lard

pies

Try to eat less saturated fat and choose foods that contain unsaturated fats instead, such as vegetable oils and spreads, oily fish and avocados.

For a healthier choice, use a small amount of vegetable or olive oil, or reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee.

Sugary foods and drinks are often high in energy (measured in kilojoules or calories), and if consumed too often can contribute to weight gain. They can also cause tooth decay, especially if eaten between meals.

Free sugars are any sugars added to foods or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies.

This is the type of sugar you should be cutting down on, rather than the sugar found in fruit and milk.

Many packaged foods and drinks contain surprisingly high amounts of free sugars.

Free sugars are found in many foods, such as:

5. Eat less salt: no more than 6g a day for adults

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.

Even if you do not add salt to your food, you may still be eating too much.

About three-quarters of the salt you eat is already in the food when you buy it, such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces.

6. Get active and be a healthy weight

As well as eating healthily, regular exercise may help reduce your risk of getting serious health conditions. It's also important for your overall health and wellbeing.

Read more about the benefits of exercise and physical activity guidelines for adults.

Being overweight or obese can lead to health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and stroke. Being underweight could also affect your health.

Most adults need to lose weight by eating fewer calories.

If you're trying to lose weight, aim to eat less and be more active. Eating a healthy, balanced diet can help you maintain a healthy weight.

Check whether you're a healthy weight by using the BMI healthy weight calculator.

Your combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies should not be more than 150ml a day, which is a small glass.

Remember to drink more fluids during hot weather or while exercising.

8. Do not skip breakfast

Some people skip breakfast because they think it'll help them lose weight.

But a healthy breakfast high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt can form part of a balanced diet, and can help you get the nutrients you need for good health.

 

 

An ideal daily health routine includes a balance of physical activity, a healthy diet, adequate sleep, and mental wellness practices. Key habits include exercising regularly, staying hydrated, eating balanced meals, and getting consistent, quality sleep. Incorporating stress management techniques like mindfulness or meditation, managing social connections, and limiting alcohol and unhealthy foods are also crucial. 

Morning routine:

Start with hydration: Drink a glass of water upon waking to rehydrate your body.

Incorporate movement: Gentle stretching or a short walk can wake up your body, improve circulation, and set a positive tone for the day.

Eat a nutritious breakfast: A balanced breakfast with protein and fiber helps you feel full and energized.

Manage stress: Practice mindfulness or meditation to start your day calmly.

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During the day

Stay active: Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days. This can be a brisk walk, a workout, or other activities you enjoy.

Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, primarily water, throughout the day.

Eat a balanced diet: Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Limit processed foods, excess sugar, and unhealthy fats.

Take breaks: Get up and move around regularly to avoid long periods of sitting, and take micro-breaks to prevent burnout.

Protect your skin: If spending time outside, apply sunscreen. 

Evening routine

Limit screen time: Reduce exposure to screens, especially before bed, to improve sleep quality.

Establish a consistent bedtime: Go to bed and wake up around the same time each day to regulate your body's internal clock.

Unwind: Create a relaxing wind-down routine that may include reading, a warm bath, or light stretching.

Practice gratitude: Reflecting on things you are grateful for can improve your mental well-being. 

General wellness habits

Get enough sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.

Manage stress: Find healthy ways to cope with stress, such as exercise, hobbies, social connection, or professional help when needed.

Maintain social connections: Spend time with loved ones to support your emotional health.

Limit alcohol and avoid smoking: These are crucial for long-term health.

Health

The meaning of health has evolved over time. In keeping with the biomedical perspective, early definitions of health focused on the theme of the body's ability to function; health was seen as a state of normal function that could be disrupted from time to time by disease. An example of such a definition of health is: "a state characterized by anatomic, physiologic, and psychological integrity; ability to perform personally valued family, work, and community roles; ability to deal with physical, biological, psychological, and social stress". Then, in 1948, in a radical departure from previous definitions, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a definition that aimed higher, linking health to well-being, in terms of "physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity". Although this definition was welcomed by some as being innovative, it was also criticized for being vague and excessively broad and was not construed as measurable. For a long time, it was set aside as an impractical ideal, with most discussions of health returning to the practicality of the biomedical model.

Just as there was a shift from viewing disease as a state to thinking of it as a process, the same shift happened in definitions of health. Again, the WHO played a leading role when it fostered the development of the health promotion movement in the 1980s. This brought in a new conception of health, not as a state, but in dynamic terms of resiliency, in other words, as "a resource for living". In 1984, WHO revised the definition of health defined it as "the extent to which an individual or group is able to realize aspirations and satisfy needs and to change or cope with the environment. Health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living; it is a positive concept, emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.Thus, health referred to the ability to maintain homeostasis and recover from adverse events. Mental, intellectual, emotional and social health referred to a person's ability to handle stress, to acquire skills, to maintain relationships, all of which form resources for resiliency and independent living.This opens up many possibilities for health to be taught, strengthened and learned.

Since the late 1970s, the federal Healthy People Program has been a visible component of the United States' approach to improving population health. In each decade, a new version of Healthy People is issued, featuring updated goals and identifying topic areas and quantifiable objectives for health improvement during the succeeding ten years, with assessment at that point of progress or lack thereof. Progress has been limited to many objectives, leading to concerns about the effectiveness of Healthy People in shaping outcomes in the context of a decentralized and uncoordinated US health system. Healthy People 2020 gives more prominence to health promotion and preventive approaches and adds a substantive focus on the importance of addressing social determinants of health. A new expanded digital interface facilitates use and dissemination rather than bulky printed books as produced in the past. The impact of these changes to Healthy People will be determined in the coming years.

Health

The World Health Organization provides the advice and evidence needed for people to lead healthy lives. Good health requires the commitment of many, from lawmakers to lunch makers. And there are steps each of us can take to promote and protect health. These include being more active, eating healthy, and avoiding tobacco and harmful use of alcohol.

Physical activity

Being physically active helps all people, no matter their age, lead healthier lives.

       Some physical activity is better than doing none. By being more active throughout the day in relatively simple ways, people can quite easily achieve the recommended activity levels. Below are the levels of physical activity WHO recommends people of different ages undertake.

Children and adolescents aged 5-17 years

·         Should do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity daily.

·         Physical activity of amounts more than 60 minutes daily provides additional health benefits.

·         Should include activities that strengthen muscle and bone, at least 3 times per week.

Adults aged 18–64 years

·         Should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week, or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both.

·         For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or equivalent.

·         Muscle-strengthening activities should be done involving major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week.

Adults aged 65 years and above

·         Should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both.

·         For additional health benefits, they should increase moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or equivalent.

·         Those with poor mobility should perform physical activity to enhance balance and prevent falls, 3 or more days per week.

·         Muscle-strengthening activities should be done involving major muscle groups, 2 or more days a week.

Digital health

      The use and scale up of digital health solutions can revolutionize how people worldwide achieve higher standards of health, and access services to promote and protect their health and well-being. Digital health provides opportunities to accelerate our progress in attaining health and well-being related Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), especially SDG 3, and achieving our triple billion targets for 2023 as articulated in its Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13).

Healthy dietA healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition.

      It protects you against many chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Eating a variety of foods and consuming less salt, sugars and saturated and industrially-produced trans-fats, are essential for healthy diet. A healthy diet comprises a combination of different foods. These include:

o    Staples like cereals (wheat, barley, rye, maize or rice) or starchy tubers or roots (potato, yam, taro or cassava).

o    Legumes (lentils and beans).

o    Fruit and vegetables.

o    Foods from animal sources (meat, fish, eggs and milk).

         Here is some useful information, based on WHO recommendations, to follow a healthy diet, and the benefits of doing so.

·         Breastfeed babies and young children.

o    A healthy diet starts early in life - breastfeeding fosters healthy growth, and may have longer-term health benefits, like reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing noncommunicable diseases later in life.

o    Feeding babies exclusively with breast milk from birth to 6 months of life is important for a healthy diet. It is also important to introduce a variety of safe and nutritious complementary foods at 6 months of age, while continuing to breastfeed until your child is two years old and beyond.

·         Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit.

o    They are important sources of vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre, plant protein and antioxidants.

o    People with diets rich in vegetables and fruit have a significantly lower risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain types of cancer.

·         Eat less fat.

o    Fats and oils and concentrated sources of energy. Eating too much, particularly the wrong kinds of fat, like saturated and industrially-produced trans-fat, can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

o    Using unsaturated vegetable oils (olive, soy, sunflower or corn oil) rather than animal fats or oils high in saturated fats (butter, ghee, lard, coconut and palm oil) will help consume healthier fats.

o    To avoid unhealthy weight gain, consumption of total fat should not exceed 30% of a person's overall energy intake.

·         Limit intake of sugars.

o    For a healthy diet, sugars should represent less than 10% of your total energy intake. Reducing even further to under 5% has additional health benefits.

o    Choosing fresh fruits instead of sweet snacks such as cookies, cakes and chocolate helps reduce consumption of sugars.

o    Limiting intake of soft drinks, soda and other drinks high in sugars (fruit juices, cordials and syrups, flavoured milks and yogurt drinks) also helps reduce intake of sugars.

·         Reduce salt intake.

o    Keeping your salt intake to less than 5h per day helps prevent hypertension and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population.

o    Limiting the amount of salt and high-sodium condiments (soy sauce and fish sauce) when cooking and preparing foods helps reduce salt intake.

No tobacco

      Avoiding tobacco, or taking proven measures to quit, are among the surest ways for people to avoid many illnesses and, instead, take the road to good health.Avoiding tobacco or taking proven measures to quit, are among the surest ways for people to avoid many illnesses and, instead, take the road to good health.

In fact, there are immediate and long-term health benefits of quitting for all tobacco users, including lower blood pressure.

Here are some key points on avoiding the harms of tobacco use.

·         Most tobacco users who are aware of the dangers of tobacco want to quit. Counselling and medication more than doubles the chance that someone who uses tobacco and tries to quit will succeed.

·         If you are a tobacco user wanting to quit, it is essential to understand the importance of doing so for your own health and your family.

·         Then, you must be confident that you can quit - many people have done so.

·         If needed, seek support from health professionals to quit. There are a range of things people can do, from calling a quit line and accessing online material to attending a cessation clinic.

·         Practical tips to help tobacco users deal with tobacco cravings include delay, drinking water, deep breathing and physical activity.